The present invention relates to an apparatus for the examination and inspection of surfaces, particularly for making high-sensitivity measurements regardless of direction, of dot-shaped, linear, or planiform defects, by means of a light source that generates a light beam, and which has an objective and a supporting disk on which the object for inspection can be placed, wherein the light beam through the objective is perpendicular to the surface of the object and the supporting disk is secured to a drive that can make a composite rotational and translational movement so as to permit the light beam to scan the surface of the object along a spiral path, with provision for a photo detector to which the light reflected by the surface of the object and collected in the objective is directed and whose output is connected to an amplifier. Such apparatuses can be used, for example, in microelectronics for the non-destructive examination and inspection of the surface of wafers, magnetic storage media, and substrates for optical applications, in order to determine the presence of defects.